Meet the folk who make Octagon tick: Lottie Kew

Our very own Liverpudlian, Lottie Kew, works across Delta and AIG as an Account Manager at Octagon. Outside of her day job though, she’s just finished a heroic season in goal for Sunday league team AFC Stoke Newington. We got the low down on her season as they chased the title…

Tell us a little about AFC Stoke Newington Ladies…

LK: We’re the new kids on the block. Founded in 2015, we’ve just finished our second season. AFC Stoke Newington is a community club for women and girls in East London with a mission to get as many girls playing football as possible.

How did you end up playing for them?

LK: I used to be a player-coach at Hackney Laces, in East London – founded by an inspirational friend and footballer Katee Hui, who alongside six brilliant women in 5 years, has grown the Laces family with the addition of two sister clubs (Limehouse and South London). After our 2014/15 Season, Hackney Laces moved to focus on the development of teenage girls – looking to raise aspirations in the community, so Katee, myself and a few other women needed a new pitch to call home – and we found ourselves at AFC Stoke Newington.

Do you think the increased popularity of the women’s professional game, particularly the recent success of the Lionesses, has changed the amateur game at all?

LK: Yes definitely, I started playing football when I was 8 – I was really fortunate, we used to play out on the school fields with the boys until a group of dads with daughters founded my first team, Winchester City Flyers (thanks Alan). Today, there are a lot more clubs in the community offering opportunities for girls to get involved in football but there’s still a long way to go. If you look at grassroots funding and media coverage, to the growth of the WSL and campaigns like This Girl Can – you can see that progress is definitely being made. However we still lag behind the US in terms of development programmes and opportunities for girls and women to get into the game.

Most importantly, did you win the league?!

LK: WE DID IT! A truly amazing season, and the first time I’ve seen silverware in a while as a Liverpool fan!

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